Zuo Mengeng, like most generals of the Zuo Army, was afraid of the allied forces breaking into Cao after the defeat at Zhuxian Town. What's more, the offensive and defensive momentum of the two sides was different at present. Li Laiheng had a deep business in Huguang and was deeply popular among the people, so his foundation was difficult to shake.
Although Zuo Zhen has now defeated Zaoyang and won the first battle, Zuo Mengeng is still not sure about defeating Suizhou.
He did not dare to directly say anything that would affect morale. He paused for a moment and then said in a roundabout way:
"Commander Father, Zaoyang has been defeated. Why don't we search Zaoyang for a few days and rush to attack Suizhou in such a hurry? After conquering Zaoyang, Commander Father did not allow the army to stay in the city. The soldiers had no chance to collect food, which greatly damaged the morale of the army.
It’s not very good because of this.”
Because he said something that was not in line with Zuo Liangyu's intentions, Zuo Mengeng was worried about being scolded by his father. He shrank his neck slightly, waiting for his father's reaction. Zuo Liangyu looked at his son's appearance and sighed in his heart.
"Mediocre talent," he said slowly:
"The small land in Zaoyang City is barren, and it is as useless as chicken ribs. If you allow the army to collect food here, the morale and morale of the army will be indulged, and it will be more difficult to control. Who is willing to go to Suizhou to touch a hard nut? But now we will not touch this hard nut.
There will be no food to eat. Once the food is exhausted, my father and son will have no chance of survival! Only by fighting to the death while the soldiers still have some sorrow and anger can they have a chance to survive."
Zuo Mengeng did not dare to say any more, tied his hands and respectfully waited for his father to continue speaking.
"Over the years, we have claimed to have 200,000 troops. At our peak, we had 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and more than 100,000 women and children. However, the court has been paying according to the quota of 25,000 soldiers. Do we want everyone else to drink the northwest wind? So?
We must raise our own military pay. Raising our own military pay will inevitably disturb the people, and the people will naturally be dissatisfied with us. But you also know that my father is a clever woman who cannot make a living without rice. The court does not give money or food, and it wants me to suppress thieves.
If you want me to win the war, what can I do? I can only take it from the people, and at least we can use it to the people by suppressing thieves!"
There was no trace of shame on Zuo Liangyu's face when he said this. He then asked Zuo Mengeng and Jin Shenghuan to seize the fleet. The navy is Zuo Zhen's biggest advantage compared to the Chuang Army. He must not
There is a loss.
According to Zuo Liangyu's prediction, the Zuo Army will approach the Suizhou City tomorrow afternoon, and the rogue bandits will fight to the death. Although there are more than 30,000 people in Zuo Town, most of them are newly defeated soldiers and a ragtag group. It is hard to say what kind of fight they can achieve.
.When it is absolutely necessary, we will have to rely on fleets to retreat.
It has to be said that Zuo Liangyu is really good at retreat, or turning in.
He arranged for Zuo Menggeng how to retreat when he had to. The retreat must be both fast and without chaos. In this way, the baggage, food, and family members accompanying the army must go first. To avoid being sloppy and being pursued by rogue cavalry, the consequences will be
Unimaginable.
"Without further delay, you and Hu Chen should prepare well. Remember, some ships should be reserved not to go into battle, but to carry the food and property we have plundered. You must be ready to retreat at any time in case of emergencies.
need."
Zuo Liangyu was very worried that Zuo Menggeng could not handle such a big thing, so he called Jin Shenghuan again before dinner and discussed the entire plan with him again, asking him to ensure the retreat of the army.
They discussed for a while and made arrangements for the division of labor among the warships. They also analyzed possible obstacles along the way and devised countermeasures. The discussion did not end until after Haishi. Zuo Liangyu and Jin Shenghuan stood up and were about to go out for the night.
While preparing, suddenly Zuo Ying's central army rushed over. While saluting Zuo Liangyu, he said in panic:
"Report to the commander, something happened!"
"What's the matter? Don't panic, speak slowly!" Zuo Liangyu was startled, but his many years of military service have developed his habit of being calm in situations. In a flash, he thought, could the "thief soldiers" attack in advance? Then he thought again
He denied it and thought it was impossible in terms of military strength.
"A group of civilians took advantage of the darkness and set fire to our warship!" the Chinese army reported.
Zuo Liangyu was furious and didn't speak for a moment. Jin Shenghuan, who was standing next to him, even saw the veins on Zuo Liangyu's temples beating slightly, and his face suddenly turned red.
After a while, Zuo Liangyu coldly ordered:
"Call me the bastard guarding the warship!"
"He has been kidnapped." After the Chinese army said it, he shouted out the door, "Bring the sinner here!"
The general who was responsible for commanding the troops to guard the warship was actually a small leader of the peasant army who had surrendered with Ma Jinzhong. When the people set fire to the ship tonight, he was very drunk and was gambling with some of his subordinates. Waiting for him to hear that
News rushed out of the cabin that the fire had spread. Later, a large number of leftist troops arrived with buckets and finally used river water to put out the fire, but many ships had been burned.
"Can it still be repaired?" Zuo Liangyu asked.
"I don't... don't know," General Pi, who had already woken up from his drink, replied in a mumble, "maybe... it's possible, but in the short... short term... it might... be difficult..."
Zuo Liangyu's flushed face slowly turned livid, and his glaring eyes were withdrawn from General Pi. He turned his face sideways, not looking at anyone, and spat out a few words between his teeth:
"Push it out and chop it!"
After General Pi was escorted out, there was a scream outside the camp soon. Zuo Liangyu didn't speak for a long time. The unexpected incident disrupted his overall plan. After the initial anger, he began to think quickly about ways to make amends.
He summoned a few more trusted generals and briefly discussed the sudden change that occurred tonight, asking everyone to make a decision together.
Ma Jinzhong was frightened. The little leader who committed the crime was one of his subordinates, so he did not dare to say a word. The deputy commander-in-chief Li Guoying was resourceful and pointed out that there were many civilian ships parked near Zaoyang, including fishing boats and merchant ships. Although they were all
It is a small ship, but it can also be "borrowed" to make up for Zuo Zhen's losses. Zuo Liangyu knew that "borrowing" meant robbing, so he made up his mind after thinking about it for a while, and said:
"I originally didn't want to set up troops to burn and plunder the Zaoyang area, and repeatedly restrained the troops. For this reason, I didn't even allow the army to enter the city, which made the whole army very unhappy. But the unruly people burned our ships. You are merciless, and neither am I."
Righteous, we have no choice but to borrow civilian ships. We need to prepare the ships overnight today and set off on time tomorrow morning. We can’t delay even a moment!"
That night, there was terror near Zaoyang.
The left army armed with knives jumped into civilian boats and drove the boat people and merchants ashore. Some of the goods on the boats were thrown ashore, some were seized as military supplies, and some were thrown into the river.
During the seizure of the ship, many people were beaten, and killings and rapes occurred. Some people who resisted a little had their hands and feet cut off by left army soldiers, and were thrown into the water and drowned alive.
The people of Zaoyang spent a sleepless night amidst the constant cries, begging, and curses coming from the river.
Some officers and soldiers were looting by nature, and they robbed and robbed, so they expanded the scope of the robbery. Originally Zuo Liangyu only asked them to go to the river to rob civilian ships, but once the soldiers were allowed to rob, how could they expect the general's orders to restrain them?
Live them?
The scope of the burning disaster continued to expand, and all the villages and settlements around Zaoyang were destroyed by blades and flames. Countless wailing sounds resounded in the air. The fire reflected the sky, and the night turned into daylight. Houses, roads, wells, and rivers
, all filled with corpses and crimson blood, and brutal killings surged southward along the river, gathering more and more, forming a wave full of resentment, hatred and unwillingness.
Ma Jinzhong couldn't bear it, but the root cause of this incident was the failure of his subordinates to supervise the fleet. He really had nothing to say. Jin Shenghuan stood beside him and patted the peasant soldier comfortingly.
On the shoulders of the rebel general, Jin Shenghuan was born in Dongjiang Town and was also a refugee from Liaodong. He had witnessed the crazy massacre of Donglu outside the pass, but he did not expect that one day his army would replicate this practice inside the pass.
The two had different thoughts, but both lowered their heads.
A little further ahead, a famous Zuozhen officer cut off an old woman's fingers and snatched a bead chain bracelet from her tightly clenched hand. He was beaming with joy. But when he saw two generals behind him,
, looking slightly embarrassed, he knelt on one knee in front of Jin Shenghuan, handed the bracelet over, and said:
"Master Xietai, this... this is to honor you."
Ma Jinzhong and Jin Shenghuan looked at each other. Ma Jinzhong sighed and said nothing, while Jin Shenghuan frowned, shook his head first, and then hesitated for a while and said:
"We're not far behind... you... well, you can keep it yourself."
The old woman, who had her fingers cut off and was lying on the ground trembling, opened her eyes wide, pointed at the officers and soldiers of Zuo Town with her fingers that were bleeding and showing bones, and she used all her strength, as if she was spewing blood from her mouth.
, scolded angrily:
"Thieves! Left thieves! Official thieves! You thieves, you thieves will be punished! Just wait for Little King Li!"
The officer and soldier who was kneeling on one knee in front of Ma Jinzhong and Jin Shenghuan looked hesitant when he heard this. He turned around and stepped on the old woman's head, inserted the blade between her neck, and said sternly:
"You are the fucking thieves, we are officers and soldiers!"
The momentum is like water and fire and cannot be stopped.
Who is the thief?
Ma Jinzhong was used to Zuozhen's massacres, but perhaps because he was going to fight with his old colleagues and comrades tomorrow, he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of melancholy.
What if he had not surrendered in Henan?
Or just like the Eight Great Kings and Cao Cao, surrendering is a vain act. Will he be any different today?